


Homework

by Vanessa_Cocotea



Category: Doctor Who (TV Movie 1996)
Genre: Adventure, Alien Culture, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-02
Updated: 2014-05-02
Packaged: 2018-01-21 15:05:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1554638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanessa_Cocotea/pseuds/Vanessa_Cocotea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From 2006:</p><p>Eight and Grace's first visit to the love planet of Liebemore.  They nearly get arrested for not being affectionate enough and they both get propositioned by a gentleman dispensing chocolates. They finish up in the bath and nearly become prunes...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homework

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Eight/Grace story. 
> 
> By the way, the telephone scene is based on a true story. That actually happened to me on Valentine's Day 1975 - *I* was the "other woman"!.

Arrows targeted them like a thousand mad missiles, one just grazing the Doctor's flapping coattails as it flew past. He grabbed Grace's hand as they sped for safety.

"Come on!" He gasped, nearly out of breath. They had to make the TARDIS and soon. She was their only hope of safety. The - for all practical purposes, poisoned arrows could never pierce her outer shell.

"What is with these people?" Grace gasped. She too was near exhaustion. She risked a glance back at their scantily-clad, arrow-shooting, flying pursuers. When the inhabitants of this planet wanted something, they went to just about any length to get it! As far as they were concerned, Grace and the Doctor had ignored one of their planet's most cherished customs and they were NOT going to get away with it! So the officials had sent the "Special Branch" to deal with the offenders.

It took them another twenty minutes to reach the TARDIS, the Doctor taking out his key as he ran the last few metres. They tumbled into the Doctor's craft and collapsed on the steps just inside the doors. They lay down in sheer exhaustion. It had been some holiday! As they lay there panting, they thought about their experiences on the Love planet of Liebemore'.

********

"So, have you found anywhere new to try for Valentine's Day?" Grace asked. The Doctor had told her of his, thus far, futile search for the perfect place for a Valentine's holiday. Everywhere he'd gone hadn't quite had that "je ne sais quoi".

"Hmm?" He mused, perusing the TARDIS data banks. "No, that one's too contrived. No, too cold. No, that's one's too...Aha! Perhaps, Liebemore', the planet of love. According to the description, it's a planet where the inhabitants are very sociable and getting along is as natural as breathing."

"Sounds refreshing." Grace responded.

"Also, like on Earth, they celebrate Valentine's Day, and it's considered the biggest day of their year. Apparently, the preparations take months. Sound interesting? Would you like to try Liebemore'? He turned to smile at her.

"Why not? Sounds perfect. Which makes me wonder...what's the catch?"

"Grace! Grace! Grace! Grace! Don't be such a sceptic. It's the law of averages. There's got to be somewhere in the universe where the people are just as nice as they seem."

"I hope so. Oh, what the hey? Let's try Liebemore'." She smiled back. "It could be the one."

"Good! That's the spirit!" He set the coordinates as happy as a little boy on his birthday.

After they landed, and before they left the TARDIS, Grace observed, "With a name like "Liebemore' ", it sounds like they're trying to make it very obvious they believe in love."

"Oh?"

"Oh, come on, Doctor. Liebemore'?" She looked pointedly at him.

"Oh, yes. Liebemore'. Derived from the German and Italian words for love. Yes, very obvious. It also suggests, of course, that the inhabitants are human, or at least more familiar with human culture than just knowing about Valentine's Day. Shall we go?"

********

It was a beautiful planet. They'd landed near a city, called "MonAmi" - French for "my friend". Was everything on this planet named in human languages for something to do with love and friendship? "That could get a bit much." Grace thought. But, like the Doctor said, she shouldn't be such a sceptic. As they walked towards the city, they admired the natural beauty - an abundance of healthy trees, flowers, birds and other animals. The climate must be particularly beneficial, to nourish this kind of beauty.

Even the city proved to be clean, with a delicate jewel-like beauty. The buildings appeared to be of glass and were in a multitude of jewel-like colours. The shops featured a variety of holiday goods. Romantic music played everywhere. These people took the holiday very seriously.

As for the people, they were very friendly. Genuinely friendly, it seemed. Grace still couldn't help being a little sceptical. So far everything seemed genuine, and it made a refreshing change, but still. The Doctor, however, was thoroughly enchanted. He always looked for the bright side and almost always found it.

The people were also very beautiful. They were of about average human height, with flawless porcelain skin. Their silky hair was blonde, light red, or light brown and worn longer in length than the hair worn on Earth. Their eyes were also light in colour, and came in every pastel shade in the rainbow. The Doctor and Grace found them to be a very gentle people as well. Their clothes, as they soon discovered, were usually in the same pastel shades as their eyes and usually matched the eye colour. However - this being Valentine's Day, pinks, whites, and reds were the order of the day. As it was a relatively warm planet, cotton seemed the most favoured fabric. The simple designs were reminiscent of the Flower Children of the Sixties on Earth. The Doctor was right at home amongst these people!

Everywhere they went, they saw people of all ages, holding hands, hugging, kissing, and in the parks, some adults were - quite unashamedly, making love. Children were frequently hugged and cuddled and kissed. Mothers everywhere were nursing their babies. It was beautiful to see.

The Doctor and Grace walked along, holding hands - when in Rome... But they would have done that, anyway. They went into the shops and browsed. In one shop, the Doctor bought Grace a teddy bear. Little did he know, that would be the start of a habit - buying teddies for his companions. To Grace's surprise, he magically produced the correct currency. How did he do that? Did the TARDIS have a universal ATM or something? She hadn't seen him do anything in the TARDIS that looked like checking for any money. Weird. Still, she liked the bear and said her thanks. The Doctor said everyone should have at least one teddy bear. Then he said that, for the life of him, he couldn't think where his had got to. But he knew he had one - or maybe, he hadn't got it yet and it was one he remembered from the future. Grace pulled him out of the shop. She was getting a headache, with all of his "future bear he remembered now" musings and they walked on.

********

They were stopped many times and offered all sorts of delicacies. Everything they sampled was quite delicious. They were even stopped by a man, who offered them chocolates from the box from which he was eating. He greeted them with, "May I be your "loving" servant?"

"How can I refuse?" The Doctor said, and when the man smiled a very enigmatic smile, the Doctor hastily added, "A chocolate, that is." The man's smile faded for a split second, but was back again, when he made the same offer to Grace, who gave the same response, with the same result.

He left them, with the words, "May you love often and love well today." He went on his way, repeating the offer to every adult he met. They passed him in the park a little later. He was with a young lady, who it appeared, had accepted more than just a chocolate from him. The pair looked "exceedingly" happy.

"Well, that's a novel way to find a...ahm..."friend"." Grace quipped.

"It seems to work for them, though." The Doctor looked at the abundance of "exceedingly happy" pairs in the park.

They spent some time taking it all in. At last, they sat down on a park bench to rest.

"Well, Doctor, you win, I guess." Grace told him.

"Oh?"

"I haven't discovered a catch yet. It really does seem like a very nice place."

"See," He smiled, "there isn't always a catch." He suddenly looked up. "Or perhaps, there is a catch and I haven't won. Look."

Grace looked a few metres away. Two people, who appeared to be some sort of officials, were approaching a couple, who were sitting on the grass, just talking, not even holding hands. Apparently, affectionate behaviour was "required" on Valentine's Day. Those who were not considered "affectionate enough" were adamantly "encouraged" to up their affection quotient.

One of the "Love Police" raised his hand skyward. Instantly, the air was filled with flying arrow-shooting cupids! Before they knew what happened, the couple were shot. They immediately fell in love. Unfortunately, at the moment they were shot, they hadn't been looking at each other. Both of them fell in love with the first person they saw, and were soon "at it" with new partners! The "Love Police" happily strolled on - a job well done. The cupids disappeared. All was well, until the Police spotted the Doctor and Grace and headed straight for them!

They panicked. They realised they'd stopped holding hands, when they'd sat down to rest. They weren't even sitting that closely. The Doctor immediately wrapped his arms round Grace and kissed her. But it was too little, too late, for the "Love Police". They extended their hands, and cupids started to materialise. The Doctor and Grace ran, Grace holding her bear. These people seemed to fall in love with anyone or anything! She wouldn't be the least bit surprised, if an arrow caught someone else, who ended up attracted to her bear! That would really be the limit! They ran like lightning.

Arrows targeted them like a thousand mad missiles. The Doctor and Grace had ignored one of the planet's most cherished customs and they were NOT going to get away with it! So the officials had sent the "Special Branch" to deal with the offenders.

It took them another twenty minutes to reach the TARDIS. They tumbled into the Doctor's craft and collapsed on the steps just inside the doors. They lay down in sheer exhaustion.

********

A little while later, in the library, after they'd recovered, and Grace's bear - still unnamed, had been retrieved from the bottom of the entry steps, where he'd unceremoniously tumbled, and the Doctor had made them his favourite beverage - Lady Grey this time, he remarked:

"I'm beginning to think it is truly best to make one's own celebrations. It really doesn't seem possible to find one place that works for everyone."

"Well, Liebemore' wasn't a total washout. It was nice to see a place where people get along and it had a lot of natural beauty."

"Yes, it did. It was well looked after. So what do we do for Valentine's Day? Any ideas?"

"I don't know." Grace looked at the Doctor. "I've been thinking about a best friend I had several years ago. She and her boyfriend had a very lovely Valentine's Day. But it wasn't glitch-free." Grace laughed, remembering.

"Tell me about it." He sat forward, interest piqued.

"She rang me that night around 10:30. Her boyfriend was a university student who was taking some literature class, and he'd needed to read some poetry to discuss in class the next day. Well, he devised a novel way to do his homework." Grace was grinning as she went on with her story. "He was over to her bedsit. It had an uncanopied four-poster bed and an old-fashioned claw-foot bathtub. He was going to set the scene for a romantic evening as his novel way to do his homework. He organised scented candles, scented bubble bath, spiced tea, pink champagne, and, I think, roses round the tub as well. Then the two of them would get in the tub and he would read the poems to her."

"Sounds charming. What was the catch?"

She raised an eyebrow at the phrase, "What was the catch?", but continued on.

"Well, in order to stay out of his way, while he got everything ready, she rang me for a chat. When she described the upcoming - possibly in more ways than one, evening, I - jealous as hell, teased her, saying she'd look like a prune in the morning. Anyway, we started to talk. After about fifteen minutes, she said that he would be done soon and she should go. I agreed, but asked her what time she wanted to meet the next day for lunch. She told me and then remembered something else she wanted to say. Another fifteen minutes went by, and I suggested she should go. She said, yes she should, as he was nearly done. Well, I remembered something else important. After yet another fifteen minutes, she said, "Oh, I've got to go. He's starting to take his clothes off. I love to watch him strip!" I let her go. Drastic times called for drastic measures. The only way the poor man could get her off the phone with another woman, was to take his clothes off!" Grace started laughing uncontrollably. The Doctor couldn't help but join in. It was pretty funny!

When they finally calmed down, wiping the tears of laughter away, he asked, "Did she?"

"Did she what?"

"Look like a prune the next day?"

"Yes. It had taken him a couple of hours, but he got it done!"

"A couple of hours?!?! What was he reading - The Faerie Queen?'

"I don't know. I only remember one of the titles she told me. "Chloe Divine" by Thomas D'Urfey. I've read it, it's beautiful."

"Yes, I know that one, and it is beautiful."

"So how 'bout it?"

"What?'

"We recreate the bathtub scene. But we're both getting things ready! No one is getting hung up on anything. After all, I wouldn't want to have do a striptease, just to get you out from under the console, right?"

"No, we wouldn't want that. The console room is too cold! You'd catch pneumonia and we wouldn't want that, would we now?"

"Certainly not!"

"Anyway, it sounds like a lovely idea. We can start by raiding the poetry section here in the library. I know I've got "Chloe Divine" in a book somewhere."

********

It wasn't long before they were in the Doctor's beautiful marble bathroom. It was the perfect setting with the central marble tub. It had pillars at the corners. There were candle holders on the tops, just right for pillar candles. It was perfect. They even added music, Luigi Boccherini's "Minuet in E from string quartet Op.13 No. 5". And they didn't even forget the rubber ducky! It provided a delightful touch of whimsy, bobbing in the bubbles.

And then, no striptease, they simply slipped out of their clothes and slipped into the bubbles. After a few extensive sighs of pleasure, they swam round each other in the huge tub. They prowled round like wildcats circling their prey. Then they moved in for the kill. The kiss that gave passion a new meaning.

When they parted, they reproduced what was an excellent way to spend Valentine's Day. Grace, lounging in the water, sipping tea and champagne, listened peacefully to the Doctor as he read to her. He started with "Chloe Divine".

Chloe's a Nymph in flowery groves,  
A Nereid in the streams;  
Saint-like she in the temple moves,  
A woman in my dreams.

Love steals artillery from her eyes,  
The Graces point her charms;  
Orpheus is rivall'd in her voice,  
And Venus in her arms.

Never so happily in one  
Did heaven and earth combine:  
And yet 'tis flesh and blood alone  
That makes her so divine.

That velvet voice continued on, pausing only to sip his own drinks between poems. He read her dozens of poems, each more entrancing than the last. He finished with John Boyle O'Reilly's "A White Rose".

The red rose whispers of passion,  
And the white rose breathes of love;  
O the red rose is a falcon,  
And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rosebud  
With a flush on its petal tips;  
For the love that is purest and sweetest  
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

 

After a couple of hours - not including "the Faerie Queen", they just lay, rejuvenated. They were so rejuvenated that they went straight to the Doctor's four poster, and completely forgetting supper, they made love in a way that would have delighted the Liebemorians no end!

The End


End file.
